Lock



Nov. 21, 1933. JACOB] 1,936,163

- LOCK Filed July 10, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 21, 1933. E JACOB] 1,936,163

LOCK

Filed July 10, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "0n lboc'tian key can fie removed 72/17/5101 lrde/ryaqed- Loaf Int/on ZFWJ/i/M Jami; 51 @9' kmgw,

Patented Nov. 21, i932 PATENT, OFFICE LOCK Edward N. Jacobi, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Briggs & Stratton Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware- 7 Applicationluly 10, 1930. Serial No. 467,029.:

13 Claims.

' This invention relates to certain new and useful improvementsv in looks and refers more particularlyto ignition locks for automotive vehicles and the like. I 1

certain forms of lock controlled ignition switches, actuation of the movable switch element to contact making or on position necessitates the use of a proper key, but movement of the switch element to its off position may be effected without the use of a key. In switches of this-character the-lock cylinder, through which driving forcemayrbe transmitted to the movable switch element is provided with a handle portion to permitthe lock cylinder and consequently the movable switch element to be moved from its contactmaki-ng position to its off position without the use of a key.

However, it is possible to open a switch'of this type Without turning the lock cylinder to its-position at which its locking elements become operative so that a succeeding operation of the switch may be effected without the use of a key, thus defeating the purpose of the lock.

7 It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a novel lock construction especially adapted for use with ignition switches and similar devices, wherein the lock cylinder must'be moved sufiiciently far to permit its locking tumblers to become operative and secure the same against return: movement before the movable switch member can be moved out of circuit making position.

Another object of this invention resides inthe provision of lost motion inthe connection between the lock cylinder andthe driving element of a lock controlled movable switch member whereby a greater movement on thepart of the lock cylinder with respect to the driving element isrequired to perform a predetermined function.

'With' the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodi-v ment of" the. hereindisclosed invention may be made as'come within the scope of the claims.

In the accompanying drawingsl have illustrated one complete example of the physical em bodiment of my invention constructed according to the best modes I have so, far devised for the practical application of the'principles thereof,

" that engaged by the springs 22, by tangs 24= ex tended from the. spider and folded over the 110 and in which:.

Figure l isa, longitudinal. sectional view takenv through a lock controlled ignition switch embodye ing my invention;

Figure 2 is across. sectional view taken through v Figure ion the plane of the line 2-..2;

Figure 3 is a cross sectionalview: taken through 60. Figure 1 on the plane of' the line 3 ..3.;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the major ele,- ments of the structure shown separated and arranged in their proper order of assembly; and

Figures 5, 6', 7', 8 and 9 illustrate diagrammatically the operation of the device. 7

Referring now more particularly: tothe accom-n panying drawings, the numeral 101 represents the casing or mounting member of a lock structure,

which, in the present instance, ismounted on the 70.

back of a dash board 11 and has its open outer. end closed by a cover member 12. The cover member 12 mayform part of a coil housing, not shown, and has a central hub-like portion 13 formed of insulating material which provides a terminal head for a switch indicated generally by the numeral 14, andmounted within the easing 10. The terminal head 13 has a pluralityof terminals 15 mounted thereon in any suitable manner, from which conductors 16'lead to. the circuits to be controlled by the switch.

The terminals are arranged circumferentially about the terminal head 13, being equally spaced 120 degrees apart with their inner ends flush with the inner face of the terminal head and cupped to receive the contacts 17 of the movable element or contactor 18 of' the switch 14. Depressions 19 formed in'the inner face of the, terminal head betweenv the terminals receive the contacts 17 when the contactor is; in its off 90.: position.

The movable contactor 18 forms. a partial ring extending throughout 240 degrees of a circle and its contacts 17 are placed at its. opposite. ends and center to be spaced 120 degrees apartas are the terminals 15 and the depressions 17.

Elongated stems or rivets 20.having their inner ends fixed in a disc ofinsulatingmaterial 21 and their outer ends passed through apertures in the.

contactor 18- and riveted outwardly thereof, serve to retain the contactor assembled with the disc of insulating material, and expansive springs; 22. confined between the disc, 21 and thelhollowbacks of the contacts 17 serve to. yieldably urge the peripheral edge of the disc. The spider or driving element 23, as best illustrated in Figure i, is stamped from bendable metal and has its central portion 25 projected outwardly of the surface of the disc 21 to space its fiat central surface from the disc 21 for a purpose to be later described.

The central portion 25 extends into a recess or depression 26 formed in the adjacent end of a central tubular projection 2'? extended inwardly from the closed end of the casing 10 and which forms the mounting member of a lock cylinder 28. The extreme end of the central pro'ection 27, as clearly illustrated in Figure l, engages the outer surface of the annular portion of the spider or driving element 23 surrounding its central portion 25 to form a bearing for the entire movable unit of the switch 14, which includes the contactor, the disc 21 and the spider 23, displacement of the unit out of proper position being restrained by the action of the expansive springs 22.

Rotation may be imparted to the movable unit of the switch by the lock cylinder 28 from. whose innermost end a pair of driving lugs 29 and 30 extend into openings 31- and 32, respectively, in the flat face or" the central portion 25 of the spider, the space between said flat face and the disc 21 accommodating the ends of the driving lugs.

The lock cylinder 28 is of conventional construction and is rotatably mounted in the bore 33 of'the tubular projection 27 and has a plurality of locking tumblers 3e yieldably urged to project into a longitudinal groove 35 formed in the central projection 27 in communication with its bore 33 tonormally prevent efiective actuation of the lock cylinder. The locking tumblers 34 are .retractible within the periphery of the lock cylinder by the insertion of a proper key 36 into the key receiving opening orkey slot 37 of the lock cylinder to free the cylinder for rotation, as will be readily apparent.

The outer enlarged end 38 cr me lock cylinder projects through a suitable opening in the dash board 11 and has an annular flange 39 projected therefrom for a portion of its circumference. The ends 40 of the annular projection 39 cooperate with abutment-s formed at opposite sides of an inwardly extending projection 41 carried by the casing 10 to define the limits of movement of the lock cylinder and the portion of the head 38 outwardly of the dash board 11 is flattened to provide a handle. i2 whereby the lock cylinder maybe manually turned without the aid of the key under certain conditions, to be later described.

Heretoiore in looks of this type, the driving connection between the lock cylinder and the spider or driving member has been positive, i. e. practically free of all lost motion, and the longi tudinal tumbler receiving groove 35 into which the tumblers project when the switch is in its off position and the key is removed, was of a Width just sufficient to receive the tumblers.

With' this construction. it was possible, in opening the switch, to disengage the individual contacts of the movable contactor from their re-.- spective stationary contacts or terminals without requiring the cylinder to be turned to its position at which its locking tumblers became operative and entered their locking groove. It was thus possible to open the ignition switch without looking the same so that it might be closed again without necessitating the use of a key, thus defeating the purpose of the look.

' directed thereto.

The present invention overcomes this objectionable feature by providing lost motion in the connection between the lock cylinder driving lugs and the spider or driving element, and by increasing the width of the tumbler receiving groove 35.

In Figures 1 to 4 inclusive the various elements of the device have been illustrated in the positions they assume when the switch is open. in this position the tumblers are aligned, not only with the groove 35, but also with a narrow groove 43 diametrically opposite one end portion of the groove 35. This permits insertion and removal of the key as the groove 43 receives the back ends of the tumblers that are moved outwardly during insertion and removal of the key.

The 0 eration of the lock structure is best illustrated in the diagrammatic illustrations of Figures 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and reference is now In Figure v5, the: parts are illustrated in the positionsthey assume directly after the movable contactor 18 has been actuated to its on position engaging its individual contacts 1'7 with the stationary terminals l5.- Movement of the lock cylinder from. its locked position illustrated in Figures 1 to, 4 inclusive, to that position shown in Figure 5, obviously requires the insertion of the key, in that the cylinder must be moved to a position at which the tumblers are out of alignment with the tumblerreceiving groove 35. The driving lugs 29 and 30 are in their positions engaging the, extremities l l'and d5 of the groove 31 and 32, respectively, so that, all lost motion in the connection between the driving lugs and the spider has been taken up in a clockwise direction.

At this position the tumblers align with a longitudinal groove i6 similar to the groove 43- to permit the withdrawal of the key. After the. key has been withdrawn and it is desired .to actuate the contactor 13 to openthe switch, the lock cylinder is turned in a counterclockwise direction by means of its handle i2. During the initial movement of thecylinder in said counter-v clockwise direction, the lost motion in 'theconnection between the driving lugs 29 and 30 and the spider openingsfil and ,32 is taken up in a counterclockwise direction to engage; the then leading edges of the driving lugs with the extremities c7 and 48 0f the openings 3 1,;and 32,

respectively, as illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 6.

At this point the contactor is still in .its full circuit making position. Continued: counterclockwise rotation of the lock cylinder is then imparted to the spider or driving element through its driving lugs and after approximately 15 degrees of rotation from itspositionillustrated in.

Figure 6, the lock cylinderreaches the position shown in Figure '7 whereupon {the lockine. .tumblers snap into the groove 35 an d prevent return movement of the cylinder.

The contacts 17 of the movable vcontact at this 8 the parts are illustrated in the same relation as shown in Figuresl to 4, i. e. with the switch fully open and the lock cylinder. in itsposition aligning its tumblers with the groove 43 to per:

insertion of the key. It is obvious that after the switch has been opened clockwise rotation of the cylinder merely takes up the lost motion between its driving lugs and the spideropenings 31 and 32 as illustrated in Figure 9 and'effective .actuation ofthe look without the use of the key is impossible.

From the foregoing description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent. to those skilled in the art to which an invention of the character described I appertains, that I provide a novel construction for locks which is particularly adapted to ignition switches in that it makes it impossible to open the switch without looking the same,..thus necessitating the use of a key to effect closing of the switch. f

What I claim asmy invention. is:

1. In a device of the character described, a locking member, a member to be locked, an operating connection between the members whereby actuation of the locking member imparts movement to the member to be locked, said operating connection having lost motion to be taken up at the initialmovement in either direction of the locking member, and releasable means se-' curing the lockingmember in one position while allowing its movement a distance substantially that of said lost motion.

2. In a device of the character described, a locking member, a movable member to be locked by said locking member against unauthorized move- .ment to a predetermined position, an operating connection between the members whereby actua-' tion of the locking member in one direction moves the movable member to said predetermined position and vice versa, key controlled means for releasably securing the locking member against movement in said first direction, said means being inoperative when the movable member is in its predetermined position, whereby the movable member may be moved in the opposite direction without the aid of a key, and means rendering said key controlled means operative before the movable member can be moved out of said predetermined position, whereby the use of a key is at all times necessary to effect movement of the movable member to said predetermined position.

3. In combination with a controlling device movabe to and from a locked position, actuating means for said device including a lock cylinder having key controlled tumblers, a lost motion driving connection between the lock cylinder and said device, and stop means engageable by the tumblers to restrain movement of the lock cylinder, said stop means being so positioned with respect to the travel of the tumblers during actuation of the lock cylinder and with respect to the range of lost motion in the connection between the lock cylinder and said device that actuation of the lock cylinder to carry the: device to its locked position is possible without the use of a key and locking engagement of the tumblers with the stop means is efiected before the device reaches its locked position. v

4. In a lock structure, a mounting member having a bore, a lock cylinder movable in the bore, cooperating locking means carried by the mounting member and the lock cylinder, said cooperating locking means permitting a predetermined degree of unrestricted movement of the lock cylinder in the mounting member but preventing movement of the lock cylinder to a predetermined position, and means to release'said cooperating locking means to permit the lock cylinder to be moved to said predetermined position.

5. In a lock structure, a mounting member having a bore and a recess communicating with the bore, the side of said recessforming abutments, a lock cylinder in the mounting member bore, and locking means carried by the lock cylinder .and normally extended into the mounting member recess, said locking means being of less width than the recesswhereby the locking means cooperates with the abutments formed by the sides of therecess to define the limits of adegree of unrestricted movement of the lock cylin der in 'the:mounting member. 1

6. In a device of the character" described a memberto be moved to and from a predetermined definite position, a lock cylinder for moving said member to and from said predetermined definite position, key controlled means for releasably securing the lock cylinder against actuation necessary to move the member to said predetermined position whereby the use of a key is necessitated to eiiect movement of said member to said-position, said key controlled means being inoperative when the lock cylinder is in its position to which it is actuated during movement of the member to said predetermined definite position whereby the lock cylinder may be retracted without the aid of a key, and means rendering said key controlled means effective before the member leaves said predetermined definite position whereby return thereof to said predetermined definite position necessitates the use of the key.

7. In a device of the character described, a switch member movable to and from circuit making position, a locking member for moving the switch member to and from circuit making position, key controlled means for releasably securing said locking member against movement necessary to move the switch member to circuit making position, said means being disabled by the insertion of a proper key in said locking member and being inoperative when the locking member isin its position to which it is moved during movement of the switch member to circuit making position, whereby the same may be retracted to move the switch member to circuit breaking position without the aid of a key, and means rendering said key controlled means operative before the switch member leaves its circuit making position during said last mentioned movement.

8. In a device of the character described, a switch member movable to and from circuit making position, a lock cylinder, means whereby actuation of the lock cylinder moves the switch member to and from circuit making position, key controlled means releasably securing the lock cylinder against actuation necessary to move the switch member to circuit making position, whereby the use of a proper key is required to move the switch member to circuit making position, said lock cylinder being retractible to move the switch member out of circuit making position independently of the key, and means whereby the key controlled means becomes operative before the switch member leaves its circuit making position during movement therefrom, whereby the use of the key is necessitated before the switch member can be again moved to circuit making position.

9. In a lock structure, a member movable to a definite predetermined position, a key controlled lock cylinder, means whereby actuation of the lock cylinder moves said member, said lock cyl- 1 predetermined position and being retractible to move said member out of said predetermined position without the aid of a key, and means where- 159 by the lock cylinder-during its retraction to move said member out of its predetermined positionbecomes locked against return movement without the aid of a key before said member leaves said predetermined position.

10. In combination with a lock structure including a key, a member to be moved, a lock cylinder for moving said member, means for providing a driving connection between the member to be moved and the lock cylinder, and said connection having lost motion whereby the lock cylinder moves in advance of the member to be moved and means to move said lock a distance equal to the lost motion with the key removed from said lock cylinder.

11. In combination with a lock structure having a mounting member and a key controlled lock cylinder movable therein, a member to be moved upon actuation of the lock cylinder, means forming a driving connection between the lock cylinder and the member to be moved, comprising a lug carried by the lock cylinder and received in a recess formed in said member, said recess oeing of greater size than the lug whereby a degree of lost motion is present in the connection. between the lock cylinder and the member to be moved, and means for moving the lock cylinder in one direction independently of the key.

12. In combination with a controlling device, key controlled actuating means for moving the same, a lost motion connection between the actuating means and the control device, means permitting locking of the controlling device without a key, a key controlled detent, and an abutment adapted to be engaged by said detent before the controlling device reaches its locked position.

13. In a lock switch of the character described, a casing having a bore, a lock cylinder mounted in said bore, a switch member mounted in a portion of said bore, resilient means maintaining said switch member within said bore, and an eccentric connection between said lock cylinder and of said switch member to transmit rotation of the lock cylinder to the switch member.

EDWARD N. JACOBI. 

